Another chapter of the tale of mystery.
FAMILY SECRETS
A HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE FANFIC
Chapter 12
"How is it wrong Sophie?" The Wizard Suliman patiently asked.
I studied the image, but I couldn't figure it out. It was what I saw, but it wasn't right. It wasn't how it went. Howl wasn't holding a flower. He was holding something else. My hand. He was holding my hand! He was showing me the flowers that he had made for me. They were so beautiful that I wanted to cry. Yet, this was not the place that Howl took me to years ago. It was similar but not the same. That house over there doesn't exist. I've never seen it before. In fact, I wondered if this was the Wastes at all! It seemed different somehow. It was different.
"This is all wrong." I said. "This isn't what happened. This isn't what happened to the other me."
Everyone was still for a moment. None of us expected me to say that. I was more surprised than everyone else! I didn't plan to say what I said. It just came out. It made sense though. This was another world, another Howl, and another me. This never happened in our reality. Sure, Howl showed me his work but it was different. It wasn't quite as romantic or scary as this. Howl was being honest with his feelings. Something that even my Howl has trouble with today.
I released my control of the image. It faded then resumed it's original form. The Howl that I saw was still not right, but he was how he looked in the other world. This Howl was holding my hand. Showing me the flowers.
"Suliman, I would like to let it play."
"Go ahead Sophie."
It started to play out before our eyes. Howl showed the other me what he had created. There was little talk about the flower shop that we had created. It seemed that this Howl had different purpose for creating this flowers. It was a parting gift. I/she figured that out fairly quickly. Even in this world Howl had a hard time pulling things over our heads. We could see through him. He was such a practiced liar that you had to be skilled to see the truth. He thought that he was going to die soon. That terrified me/her.
"Howl, you're scaring me." I intoned unintentionally.
That got my Howl's attention. I could feel him in the link. He was worried about me. He was embarrassed and felt more than a little guilty. Why I didn't understand. This wasn't him. Nor was this really me. This was an event that played out in another reality. We had nothing to do with it. Besides being the same person in this world. He shouldn't feel guilty about this. It wasn't his fault. This was another world. Another field of flowers. Another field of flowers! That's when I saw it. The tulip that I had picked. It was exactly the same. It was even by a stream. Just as it was in my world! Yet it was different. It was not the same flower.
"The tulip, the tulip!"
Everyone had been so focused on the people that they hadn't noticed the flower in the background. It was exactly like the flower that she had hidden away. It was exactly the same down to the magical aura it emitted. It seemed impossible, but it was there.
I broke the link. There was more to see, but I had to confirm something first. I raced to the flower's hiding place and took it out. Then I brought it back to show them. "Look, it's the same as the one in my dream. This flower exists in that world. I don't know how, but I am certain. It's the same one." I gave the flower to Howl. "This flower exists in both worlds. Look at it. It's the same!"
Howl looked it over for a minute or two then passed it on to Suliman. He seemed fascinated by it. He never took his eyes off of it for a second. Finally, they admitted that it was the same flower. Not an alternate version. It seemed impossible that it could exist in both worlds at the same time, but there was no denying it. The flower was there. Even if the other Howl and Sophie didn't notice it. It was possible. Stranger things had happened to them. Clearly, this flower was made of a magic that even the great Royal Wizards did not understand. It was as fascinating as it was terrifying. How did this simple flower come into being? Why was it created? Was it even created? We did not know. The Soul Walk had answered many questions, but it created so much more.
I wanted to try again, but exhaustion overcame me and I collapsed.
Next Chapter coming up!